Sarkar, often called the “poorest chief minister of India”, had declared a sum of Rs 1,080 as cash in hand while filing his nomination for Dhanpur constituency in the Tripura Assembly elections last year.

At the crux of Dave’s compliment was Sarkar’s encouragement to the learning of Kok Borok, the indigenous language of the tribal population in Tripura.

The BJP MP said there was a specific reason why he had mentioned Sarkar while discussing the official languages department in the home ministry. He cited Sarkar’s encouragement of the use of Kok Borok even in land records, saying he saw it as an example of taking local culture and language down to the grassroots administration.